Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive cannabinoid compound found in cannabis, binds to the cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) in the brain producing the subjective “high” feeling, in addition to other effects throughout the brain. The body produces its own compounds that bind to CB1, called endocannabinoids, one of which is made by the enzyme diacylglycerol lipase (DAGL). This image is of a fissure between two lobes of a mouse cerebellum demonstrates the location of DAGLA (brown) in the outer layer near the brain surface.